M77m77


Barred Spiral Galaxy in Cetus
NGC 1068
Mag 9.6
Cetus A


07/01/16
Easy to locate in finderscope, sitting just outside a right angle triangle formed by Delta Ceti, 82 Cet, Hip 12387 at Mag 4.05, 84 Cet, HIP 12530 at Mag 5.75 and HIP 12555 at Mag 6.65
In 12mm M77 sits in a rather sparse starfield with only Hip 12705 at Mag 9 of any note
At first look it appears like a 10th Mag star with a small bright core sitting right next to HIP 12668 at Mag 10.8 but, waiting for dark adaption and using inverted vision some of the outer region becomes visible as faint wisps which hint at spreading quite widely
No sign of the spiral arms but attractive due to it's position close to HIP 12668